


Little Hopes

by Flames_and_Jade



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-08
Updated: 2016-07-08
Packaged: 2018-07-22 10:37:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7433272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flames_and_Jade/pseuds/Flames_and_Jade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Is hope enough? Mara doubts its fragile strength during the Vong invasion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Little Hopes

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story I wrote a longggggggg time ago, back when I was still a young'n new to fanfic. It was actually the first thing I'd written that wasn't just disgustingly sweet, and actually had a bit of "feels." Haha, I think it was what got me started down the road of loving to torture my characters ;)

_“What is the effect on the Force of all this violence and desperation? The threat of invasion brings out fear and anger. The dark side gets stronger. What counters it?”_

_“Little hopes.” Luke answered. “Little joys.”_    ~  Star Wars: Balance Point by Kathy Tyers 

 

 

With a final glance out the window, Mara turned away and followed Luke. Walking by habit through the darkened apartment, she paused for a moment as he palmed open the door, and went through. Luke went silently into the ‘fresher and began to shower. Mara chose blindly a pair of pajamas from the cabinet. 

 

Sighing as she entered, her mind turned once again to the sadness of it all…the injustice. Running the water over her cloth, she held it to her face for a long moment, trying to relax under the warmth, but her mind still churned like the Calamari seas during a storm. Briefly washing her face, she slipped out of her clothes and into a silky pair of pajamas, the fabric sliding smooth and soft over her skin. The sound of the water running in Luke’s shower somehow failed to be soothing to her as it normally did. 

 

Crossing the short expanse of thick carpeting, Mara slid into bed tiredly, the covers cold and stiff. Rolling onto her side, she pillowed her head on her arm and once again stared out the large window at the night sky. 

 

Corusant nights were never dark—the endless frenzy of the city prevented the calm darkness that would descend on other planets. From space, Corusant was an unnaturally bright planet, lights always shining, active at a never-ending pace. There was something comforting about that, somehow, but as she stared at lines of traffic, her heart felt as if it was being squeezed inside her chest. 

 

_What if this were to come to an end?_ With the dogged determination shown by the Yuuzhong Vong, they certainly wouldn’t be placated by the promise of a few planets, peaceful co-existence, monetary compensation. They would not stop until they had done what they had set out to do—annihilate all life in this galaxy. 

 

A familiar ache built in the pit of her stomach…why did this have to happen now? She and Luke wanted so much…so much. Her mind drifted--what would it be like to have a child, a life growing inside her? To rest her hand on the growing bulge of a son or daughter? 

 

A lone tear traced its way down her cheek, glittering in the moonlight. This war that had been so quickly and brutally pushed upon them had taken everything—everything—that she had ever wished for…who knew if they would survive another conflict? Force knows they had been through so many already. What if their luck ran out? 

 

“It won’t Mara.”’ 

 

She didn’t turn, but didn’t protest when Luke slid his arms around her, pulling her to him. Gently, he wiped the tear from her cheek and nuzzled his nose gently into her hair. 

 

Shifting, she rolled onto her back and looked at him, her heart feeling crumpled inside her. 

 

“Why do I feel like this, Luke? Its like…every shred of hope is gone. What if all of this is taken from us? What if this is all we’ll ever have?” 

 

Luke’s eyes shone warm in the cold moonlight and he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. 

 

“Then we’ll take it one day at a time, make the most of right now.” 

 

The shadows stayed in Mara’s heart, a lapping ache that seemed to pull at her like the tides. 

 

“Mara, what is it? What’s really bothering you?” 

 

“It's just…it's like the calm before the storm Luke. You know how much I hate that…the flight into the battle zone, the skulking before the shooting starts. I hate waiting for it to hit. And I suppose its just there’s so much I wanted to do…with you. I wanted to give you a child…I wanted to grow old with you with a just a little bit of trouble to keep things interesting, not fight another war.” 

 

Luke’s eyes became hooded and he broke away from her gaze. She searched his face with an insistency that surprised her—it was as if her whole life, every shred of hope she had left hung on his answer. 

 

His voice was quiet, almost a whisper as he spoke, 

 

“I don’t know what the future holds …but I promise that no matter what, I’ll be here. We’ll always be together.” 

 

Mara let the words sink into her heart, and felt strangely comforted. Luke hadn’t told her anything she didn’t know, they were just quiet words that were already mutually understood between them. But something about saying them…those whispered words of assurance in the dark…the reminder of his love and its eternal promise kindled a small spark of hope in her soul. 

 

“Thank you.” The words were barely more than a breath, a velvet breeze that soared through her spirit. Luke murmured sweet nothings as he glimpsed the fear that curled, restless and pacing, in her heart. 

 

For a long moment, Mara closed her eyes. Doubts and worries seemed to loom at her in the darkness behind her eyelids…incoherent yet real, clawing at the peace she tried to keep in her grasp. A myriad of futures, terrifying in their possibilities and pain flew past her, like a madman’s songbirds, warbling death and destruction. But then, something broke through the flurry of the maelstrom that raged in her heart. 

 

Luke’s touch. 

 

She could feel the feather-light strokes as his fingertips brushed against her cheek, her neck, winding softly into her hair. It seemed as if such a simple thing—human contact—sent the fear scampering away into the dark outside. His touch stirred in her the longing, the passion that she had hidden away in such threatening times, sequestered in her heart for the sunny days and carefree nights that seemed to never come. If this was all that they had, this moment in the dark, under the moonlight and hustle of the Coruscanti night…it shouldn’t be wasted; it should be cherished. 

 

Turning, she nestled into Luke’s embrace, burrowing into the circle of his arms. They tightened around her, pulling her close, as if he sought to let the worries bleed from her into him and give her peace in return. Moving, she twined her arms around him, caught in the vibrancy of his gaze, alight with longing and love and compassion. Every good and wonderful thing that made him her farmboy, her love…her Luke. 

 

The instant his lips touched hers, a light, tender brush, it was as if it was the first time. Fire burned in the pit of her stomach; not the now-familiar ache of unease and disquiet, but the wonderful, consuming flames of passion; of love. She pressed closer, wanting there to be nothing between them, no worries for the morrow, no questions, no uncertainties…nothing. 

 

Nightclothes fell unheeded as they tangled in the sheets, forming a cocoon around them. Mara wanted to hide in it forever, until the galaxy was ready for a love as wonderful and consuming as theirs. Let a war rage around them, let stars fall from the skies and savage beings pillage and plunder—none of it mattered. Tonight, it was just them. 

 

Luke and Mara. Together. 

 

His hands stroked and caressed, touched and traced…every nerve seemed to come alive in a showering blaze of awareness and ecstasy. Her lips were hot and fevered, as her caresses demanded more. Their minds were awash in love; tender care, undiminished ardor, fiery passion, undying devotion. 

 

They flew together to the heights of passion and love, hearts beating in unison, breathing as one. 

 

Mara gasped as she lay back on the cool sheets, shivering and shuddering. Luke pulled her back into his arms, soft and warm against her skin. She closed her eyes, feeling the last of the worries vanish in the stormy passion that whistled and whirled through her. This was what mattered; this is why she would keep fighting day after day, in whatever way she could. 

 

“I love you.” 

 

Both murmured the words at the same time…a quiet sentiment, but both understood the mountain of unspoken feelings behind them. Neither needed to say anything more…it was enough. 

 

Mara’s last thought before she drifted to sleep was a child…a baby with red-gold hair and blue eyes. 

 

That was a hope worth fighting for. 

 

 

 


End file.
